a little city in the tribe of Zebulun, in Lower Galilee, to
the west of Tabor, and to the east of Ptolemais. This city is much
celebrated in the Scriptures for having been the usual place of the
residence of Jesus Christ, during the first thirty years of his life,
Luke ii, 51. It was here he lived in obedience to Joseph and Mary, and
hence he took the name of Nazarene. After he had begun to execute his
mission he preached here sometimes in the synagogue, Luke iv, 16. But
because his countrymen had no faith in him, and were offended at the
meanness of his original, he did not many miracles here, Matt. xiii, 54,
58, nor would he dwell in the city. So he fixed his habitation at
Capernaum for the latter part of his life, Matt. iv, 13. The city of
Nazareth was situated upon an eminence, and on one side was a precipice,
from whence the Nazarenes designed, at one time, to cast Christ down
headlong, because he upbraided them for their incredulity, Luke iv, 29.
The present state of this celebrated place is thus described by modern
travellers:--Nassara, or Naszera, is one of the principal towns in the
pashalic of Acre. Its inhabitants are industrious, because they are
treated with less severity than those of the country towns in general.
The population is estimated at three thousand, of whom five hundred are
Turks; the remainder are Christians. There are about ninety Latin
families, according to Burckhardt; but Mr. Connor reports the Greeks to
be the most numerous: there is, beside, a congregation of Greek
Catholics, and another of Maronites. The Latin convent is a very
spacious and commodious building, which was thoroughly repaired and
considerably enlarged in 1730. The remains of the more ancient edifice,
ascribed to the mother of Constantine, may be observed in the form of
subverted columns, with fragments of capitals and bases of pillars,
lying near the modern building. Pococke noticed, over a door, an old
alto-relief of Judith cutting off the head of Holofernes. Within the
convent is the church of the annunciation, containing the house of
Joseph and Mary, the length of which is not quite the breadth of the
church; but it forms the principal part of it. The columns and all the
interior of the church are hung round with damask silk, which gives it a
warm and rich appearance. Behind the great altar is a subterranean
cavern, divided into small grottoes, where the virgin is said to have
lived. Her kitchen, parlour, and bed room, are shown, and also a narrow
hole in the rock, in which the child Jesus once hid himself from his
persecutors. The pilgrims who visit these holy spots are in the habit of
knocking off small pieces of stone from the walls, which are thus
considerably enlarging. In the church a miracle is still exhibited to
the faithful. In front of the altar are two granite columns, each two
feet one inch in diameter, and about three feet apart. They are supposed
to occupy the very places where the angel and the virgin stood at the
precise moment of the annunciation. The innermost of these, that of the
virgin, has been broken away, some say by the Turks, in expectation of
finding treasure under it; so that,” as Maundrell states, “eighteen
inches’ length of it is clean gone between the pillar and the pedestal.”
Nevertheless, it remains erect, suspended from the roof, as if attracted
by a loadstone. It has evidently no support below; and, though it
touches the roof, the hierophant protests that it has none above. All
the Christians of Nazareth,” says Burckhardt, with the friars, of
course, at their head, affect to believe in this miracle; though it is
perfectly evident that the upper part of the column is connected with
the roof.” The fact is,” says Dr. E. D. Clarke, that the capital and a
piece of the shaft of a pillar of gray granite have been fastened on to
the roof of the cave; and so clumsily is the rest of the _hocus pocus_
contrived, that what is shown for the lower fragment of the same pillar
resting upon the earth, is not of the same substance, but of Cipolino
marble. About this pillar, a different story has been related by almost
every traveller since the trick was devised. Maundrell, and Egmont and
Heyman, were told that it was broken, in search of hidden treasure, by a
pasha, who was struck with blindness for his impiety. We were assured
that it was separated in this manner when the angel announced to the
virgin the tidings of her conception. The monks had placed a rail, to
prevent persons infected with the plague from coming to rub against
these pillars: this had been, for many years, their constant practice,
whenever afflicted with any sickness. The reputation of the broken
pillar, for healing every kind of disease, prevails all over Galilee.”
Burckhardt says that this church, next to that of the holy sepulchre, is
the finest in Syria, and contains two tolerably good organs. Within the
walls of the convent are two gardens, and a small burying ground: the
walls are very thick, and serve occasionally as a fortress to all the
Christians in the town. There are, at present, eleven friars in the
convent: they are chiefly Spaniards. The yearly expenses of the
establishment are stated to amount to upward of nine hundred pounds; a
small part of which is defrayed by the rent of a few houses in the town,
and by the produce of some acres of corn land: the rest is remitted from
Jerusalem. The whole annual expenses of the _Terra Santa_ convents are
about fifteen thousand pounds; of which the pasha of Damascus receives
about twelve thousand pounds. The Greek convent of Jerusalem, according
to Burckhardt’s authority, pays much more, as well to maintain its own
privileges, as with a view to encroach upon those of the Latins. To the
north-west of the convent is a small church, built over Joseph’s work
shop. Both Maundrell and Pococke describe it as in ruins; but Dr. E. D.
Clarke says, This is now a small chapel, perfectly modern, and neatly
whitewashed.” To the west of this is a small arched building, which,
they say, is the synagogue where Christ exasperated the Jews, by
applying the language of Isaiah to himself. It once belonged to the
Greeks; but, Hasselquist says, was taken from them by the Arabs, who
intended to convert it into a mosque, but afterward sold it to the
Latins. This was then so late a transaction that they had not had time
to embellish it. The Mountain of the Precipitation” is at least two
miles off; so that, according to this authentic tradition, the Jews must
have led our Lord a marvellous way. But the said precipice is shown as
that which the Messiah leaped down to escape from the Jews; and as the
monks could not pitch upon any other place frightful enough for the
miracle, they contend that Nazareth formerly stood eastward of its
present situation, upon a more elevated spot. Dr. E. D. Clarke, however,
remarks that the situation of the modern town answers exactly to the
description of St. Luke. “Induced, by the words of the Gospel, to
examine the place more attentively than we should otherwise have done,
we went, as it is written, out of the city, ‘to the brow of the hill
whereon the city is built,’ and came to a precipice corresponding to the
words of the evangelist. It is above the Maronite church, and, probably,
the precise spot alluded to by the text.”
the west of Tabor, and to the east of Ptolemais. This city is much
celebrated in the Scriptures for having been the usual place of the
residence of Jesus Christ, during the first thirty years of his life,
Luke ii, 51. It was here he lived in obedience to Joseph and Mary, and
hence he took the name of Nazarene. After he had begun to execute his
mission he preached here sometimes in the synagogue, Luke iv, 16. But
because his countrymen had no faith in him, and were offended at the
meanness of his original, he did not many miracles here, Matt. xiii, 54,
58, nor would he dwell in the city. So he fixed his habitation at
Capernaum for the latter part of his life, Matt. iv, 13. The city of
Nazareth was situated upon an eminence, and on one side was a precipice,
from whence the Nazarenes designed, at one time, to cast Christ down
headlong, because he upbraided them for their incredulity, Luke iv, 29.
The present state of this celebrated place is thus described by modern
travellers:--Nassara, or Naszera, is one of the principal towns in the
pashalic of Acre. Its inhabitants are industrious, because they are
treated with less severity than those of the country towns in general.
The population is estimated at three thousand, of whom five hundred are
Turks; the remainder are Christians. There are about ninety Latin
families, according to Burckhardt; but Mr. Connor reports the Greeks to
be the most numerous: there is, beside, a congregation of Greek
Catholics, and another of Maronites. The Latin convent is a very
spacious and commodious building, which was thoroughly repaired and
considerably enlarged in 1730. The remains of the more ancient edifice,
ascribed to the mother of Constantine, may be observed in the form of
subverted columns, with fragments of capitals and bases of pillars,
lying near the modern building. Pococke noticed, over a door, an old
alto-relief of Judith cutting off the head of Holofernes. Within the
convent is the church of the annunciation, containing the house of
Joseph and Mary, the length of which is not quite the breadth of the
church; but it forms the principal part of it. The columns and all the
interior of the church are hung round with damask silk, which gives it a
warm and rich appearance. Behind the great altar is a subterranean
cavern, divided into small grottoes, where the virgin is said to have
lived. Her kitchen, parlour, and bed room, are shown, and also a narrow
hole in the rock, in which the child Jesus once hid himself from his
persecutors. The pilgrims who visit these holy spots are in the habit of
knocking off small pieces of stone from the walls, which are thus
considerably enlarging. In the church a miracle is still exhibited to
the faithful. In front of the altar are two granite columns, each two
feet one inch in diameter, and about three feet apart. They are supposed
to occupy the very places where the angel and the virgin stood at the
precise moment of the annunciation. The innermost of these, that of the
virgin, has been broken away, some say by the Turks, in expectation of
finding treasure under it; so that,” as Maundrell states, “eighteen
inches’ length of it is clean gone between the pillar and the pedestal.”
Nevertheless, it remains erect, suspended from the roof, as if attracted
by a loadstone. It has evidently no support below; and, though it
touches the roof, the hierophant protests that it has none above. All
the Christians of Nazareth,” says Burckhardt, with the friars, of
course, at their head, affect to believe in this miracle; though it is
perfectly evident that the upper part of the column is connected with
the roof.” The fact is,” says Dr. E. D. Clarke, that the capital and a
piece of the shaft of a pillar of gray granite have been fastened on to
the roof of the cave; and so clumsily is the rest of the _hocus pocus_
contrived, that what is shown for the lower fragment of the same pillar
resting upon the earth, is not of the same substance, but of Cipolino
marble. About this pillar, a different story has been related by almost
every traveller since the trick was devised. Maundrell, and Egmont and
Heyman, were told that it was broken, in search of hidden treasure, by a
pasha, who was struck with blindness for his impiety. We were assured
that it was separated in this manner when the angel announced to the
virgin the tidings of her conception. The monks had placed a rail, to
prevent persons infected with the plague from coming to rub against
these pillars: this had been, for many years, their constant practice,
whenever afflicted with any sickness. The reputation of the broken
pillar, for healing every kind of disease, prevails all over Galilee.”
Burckhardt says that this church, next to that of the holy sepulchre, is
the finest in Syria, and contains two tolerably good organs. Within the
walls of the convent are two gardens, and a small burying ground: the
walls are very thick, and serve occasionally as a fortress to all the
Christians in the town. There are, at present, eleven friars in the
convent: they are chiefly Spaniards. The yearly expenses of the
establishment are stated to amount to upward of nine hundred pounds; a
small part of which is defrayed by the rent of a few houses in the town,
and by the produce of some acres of corn land: the rest is remitted from
Jerusalem. The whole annual expenses of the _Terra Santa_ convents are
about fifteen thousand pounds; of which the pasha of Damascus receives
about twelve thousand pounds. The Greek convent of Jerusalem, according
to Burckhardt’s authority, pays much more, as well to maintain its own
privileges, as with a view to encroach upon those of the Latins. To the
north-west of the convent is a small church, built over Joseph’s work
shop. Both Maundrell and Pococke describe it as in ruins; but Dr. E. D.
Clarke says, This is now a small chapel, perfectly modern, and neatly
whitewashed.” To the west of this is a small arched building, which,
they say, is the synagogue where Christ exasperated the Jews, by
applying the language of Isaiah to himself. It once belonged to the
Greeks; but, Hasselquist says, was taken from them by the Arabs, who
intended to convert it into a mosque, but afterward sold it to the
Latins. This was then so late a transaction that they had not had time
to embellish it. The Mountain of the Precipitation” is at least two
miles off; so that, according to this authentic tradition, the Jews must
have led our Lord a marvellous way. But the said precipice is shown as
that which the Messiah leaped down to escape from the Jews; and as the
monks could not pitch upon any other place frightful enough for the
miracle, they contend that Nazareth formerly stood eastward of its
present situation, upon a more elevated spot. Dr. E. D. Clarke, however,
remarks that the situation of the modern town answers exactly to the
description of St. Luke. “Induced, by the words of the Gospel, to
examine the place more attentively than we should otherwise have done,
we went, as it is written, out of the city, ‘to the brow of the hill
whereon the city is built,’ and came to a precipice corresponding to the
words of the evangelist. It is above the Maronite church, and, probably,
the precise spot alluded to by the text.”